Away with the Dawn
by Osoyo702
Summary: Pain and darkness, that's all Sasuke knew after defeating Naruto in The Valley of the The End. Kakashi arrives to find not only Naruto, but Sasuke as well, both unconscious. One never really appreciates what they have till it's gone. Only time will tell what happened and what the will happen next. Naruto/Hinata, one sided Sasuke/Sakura, hinted Kakashi/Anko
1. Chapter 1

**This is the first chapter of my new story, I hope you enjoy.**

**As always reviews are always welcome, **

**Please PM suggestions and questions.**

**Chapter 1.**

* * *

"Chidori!"

"Rasengan!"

The explosion of chakra could be felt for miles, but just as suddenly as it was appeared it was gone. A tired and injured Sasuke stands over his team mate, an unconscious and dying Naruto. Rain begins to pour down on the two genin. The raven haired Uchiha walks away, leaving behind his discarded forehead protector on the ground.

A flash of yellow light blinds the young avenger; before the chakra drained teen can react he is knocked onto his stomach, unable to move he hears a familiar voice muttering something that he can't quite understand, then feels a hand slam into his shoulder. Pain erupts through Sasuke, the hand is taken away along with the pain, only to be replaced by two finger on both his temples, followed by excruciating pain. Sasuke's vision blurs, all goes black and he moves no more.

* * *

Kakashi and Pakkun are running desperately through the trees trying to catch up to his subordinates. Suddenly he feels a sudden explosion of terrible chakra, picking up his pace; he rushes to the source just as the rain begins to come down hard.

"Rain…!" Kakashi said worry thick on his voice, "Have you lost their scent?"

"It's alright, I still have it." Pakkun said hurriedly, "They're here." He finished as they began running down the side of the cliff.

"Am I too late?" Kakashi asked himself, seeing Naruto's broken body, and no Sasuke.

"Kakashi, come over here!" Pakkun called from inside the trees.

Kakashi quickly found Pakkun, shocked at what he saw laying on front of him.

"Is he alive?" Pakkun asked, the Jonin bent down and swiftly checked the boys' vitals.

"Barely." Is all Kakashi could say, before he made a shadow clone, using it to pick up Sasuke, as he went to pick up Naruto. "We have to get these two back, or they are both going to die." With that the copy ninja made his way as fast as he possibly could back to Konoha.

* * *

Sasuke awoke staring up at a white ceiling, _'Where am I? What the hell happened?'_ He thought as he tried to sit up, only to find himself restrained to his bed.

"Nice to see you back among the living." Said a female to his left, looking over Sasuke's heart dropped, it was Tsunade. "Surprised, I suppose you must be, being back in the village you just attempted to run away from."

Sasuke was in shock, he had defeated Naruto and escaped. "How did I get here? What happened?"

"Not that I owe you an explanation, but Kakashi brought you back. As for what happened, we were hoping that you could tell us." Tsunade said keeping her voice even and her tone pleasant.

Again Sasuke found himself at a loss for words, then a memories came back hitting him like a ton of bricks, "There was a blinding yellow light then I was ambushed, and knocked out." Sasuke said grabbing his head trying to remember anything else. "What will you do with me now?"

At that question Tsunade actually smiled, "Nothing, well obviously you won't be able to be a ninja anymore, not that it matters anyway."

Sasuke smirked, "I'll only escape again, or Orochimaru will come for me. I must get stronger so that I can kill Itachi, and that's impossible to do here, in this weak excuse for a village." Sasuke said with an evil look in his eye.

Tsunade openly laughed at this point, "Oh I don't think my old teammate will be coming for you anytime soon."

"What makes you so confident?" Sasuke spat not bothering to keep his anger in check.

"Just one thing, you have nothing left to offer Orochimaru." Tsunade said with a very smug look on her face.

"Stupid woman, you don't know what you're talking about." Sasuke said arrogance thick in his voice. "I am an Uchiha, an elite, the best."

"Prove it then." Tsunade said simply releasing his restraints and allowing him to get up.

* * *

Outside the hospital Tsunade stood directly across from Sasuke, a smirk on her face.

"Here's the deal, if you can so much as land a single hit on me, I will allow you to go free from the village. No one will stop you, no one will follow you, and no one will hunt you." Tsunade said smirk still firmly in place.

"That's it, this will be easier than I thought." Sasuke said as he got into a fighting stance, "Let's get this over with, I'm only wasting time here."

Sasuke charged forward, hands flying through seals preparing his jutsu. That's when he felt it, and suddenly everything changed. Before he could even attempt to finish the jutsu he had started, he felt a punch to his face and was thrown back thirty feet by the impact.

"Is that the best the '_elite Uchiha_' could do? That's was pathetic, I thought you were the best, you're nothing but a joke." Tsunade scoffed at the raven haired boy who was struggling to get back on his feet, she turned to walk away, "You're a waste of my time."

"Don't you dare turn your back on me, I'll kill you bitch." Sasuke screamed at her back, he tried activating his Sharingan but before he could Tsunade appeared right behind, pain then darkness once more.

"Take this trash back to his room, and make sure he can't leave it, not that it would matter anyways." Tsunade said to the Anbu, hidden in the shadows behind her.

"Yes my Lady." The Anbu said picking Sasuke up and throwing him unceremoniously over his shoulder, and started towards the hospital.

* * *

Naruto stirred, waking slowly he realized he was in the hospital. It took him a few moments to remember just how had gotten there. Suddenly he was filled with dread, _'Damn it, I couldn't keep my promise to Sakura. I couldn't save my friend, I couldn't bring him back. I'm a failure.'_ He thought as he sat up.

Feeling a presence, he turned his head to see who his visitor was, "Shikamaru." He said with a small smile.

* * *

"I'm going to see Chouji… and you?" Ino said looking at Sakura, both girls standing in front of the receptionist desk.

"I'll go ahead and see Naruto and Sasuke-kun." Sakura said as they separated.

Sakura walked through the hospital, looking for her teammates, when she heard voices talking inside a room a few feet from her.

"Yeah I heard the traitor killed that demon brat." A male voice said.

"Good, killing two birds with one stone if you ask me. The Fifth will execute the traitor, and the village will be rid of that monster at the same time." A different male voice said in a monotone.

"Yeah but it would sure be a shame losing the Sharingan." The first voice said.

"More trouble than its worth, if truth be told. I still haven't forgotten what happened with Itachi. That whole clan was nothing but trouble to begin with. To hell with the whole lot of them."

"Cheers, and to hell with the demon brat." The second voice said.

Both men cheered and walked out the room taking no notice of the pink haired girl standing just outside, nor did they notice the complete look of horror on her face.

'_Naruto is dead… Sasuke-kun is going to be executed… this can't be happening, it just can't be."_ Sakura thought tears welling up in her eyes, as she ran out of the hospital heading for the Hokage's tower.

* * *

"Lady Hokage! Is it true, is Naruto really d-dead? Is Sasuke really going to b-be executed?" Sakura yelled barging into the Hokage's office.

"What is the meaning of this, Sakura you should know better than to barge into my office?" Tsunade said before you looking at the pink haired girl and sighing, "No, neither of those claims are true, Naruto is alive, just barely though nor will there be a need to execute the traitor Uchiha."

"T-traitor? B-but S-Sasuke didn't betray the Leaf. H-he just wanted to k-kill his b-brother. S-surely he w-won't be p-punished." Sakura stuttered trying to find some lenience for her crush.

"You have no idea what you're talking about, you're blinded for your affection for the boy. Don't you even care how your other teammate ended up in the state he's in?" Tsunade said coldly to the young girl in front of her.

"I-I…" Sakura began but was swiftly cut off by Tsunade.

"Your beloved Sasuke speared him through the chest with a Chidori, fully intent on killing him. Now tell me do still believe he isn't a traitor, or does Naruto mean nothing to you at all?" Tsunade said with disgust.

"…" Sakura couldn't seem to find her voice, she stood there in shock at what she was hearing.

"If I had it my way that scum of the Uchiha would be executed immediately." Tsunade spat voice thick with contempt, then she smirked and continued, "However seeing as he is no longer a threat, and his career as a shinobi is over, the council has decided to spare his life."

"What do you mean his career as a shinobi is over?" Sakura asked, finally being shaken out of her stupor, "How is he no longer a threat?"

Tsunade's smirk grew wider, "It's funny you should ask, you see during his medical exam when he was brought back I discovered something very interesting. After testing my theory it appears…"

* * *

Sakura found herself back at the hospital, just outside Naruto's room unable to go inside and face him.

How could she have not spared Naruto a single thought, after all he had done for her, everything he had and was still willing to sacrifice for her. He was willing to give his own life to bring Sasuke back for her, and she wasn't the least bit concerned for his safety. Meanwhile Sasuke tried to kill Naruto just to escape the village, he never even thought of her, and here she was only thinking of him.

Sakura was pulled out of her thoughts as someone opened the door to leave Naruto's room.

* * *

Hinata sat there on the verge of tears, in front of her laid the boy she had admired since childhood, and recently come to love, not just a child hood crush, but actually love. It took him to be dying in the hospital for her to realize that the crush she had on him had evolved into something far stronger, far deeper than she could express.

For ten minutes now she had been sitting there hoping he would wake up, not that she would know what to say if he did, but she wanted that little reassurance that he was ok. She had brought him flowers, a card that wished him a speedy recovery, and gift card to Ichiraku ramen. She knew the ramen, if nothing else would lift the blondes spirit, and prayed that she would have the courage to ask him if she could join him when he went, not on a date, she knew she would never be bold enough to ask him that, but as friends was good enough for her.

After a few more minutes it was apparent that Naruto was not going to wake up on his own, so the timid Hyuga decided to call it a day and come back tomorrow. She gave the object of her affection on last glance before quietly opening his door to leave, only to walk face first into a pink haired girl standing just outside the door.

"I-I'm so sorry, I didn't see you… Sakura-chan." Hinata said hurriedly, bowing in apology.

"No, it's ok Hinata, it was my fault, I'm sorry for bumping into you." Sakura said waving the apology away, "How is that knuckle-headed teammate of mine doing?"

Sakura thought she saw an emotion cross Hinata's face but then it was gone before she could be sure. "He's s-sleeping, but Tsunade-sama said he should be up again in no t-time. He was up earlier, Shikamaru and Jiraiya-sama have already t-talked to him." Hinata said quietly, "I'll see y-you around Sakura-chan."

Sakura was slightly taken aback by Hinata's sudden dismissal but shrugged it off, and went into Naruto's room. What she saw nearly made her cry, how could she have let this happen. She wasn't worthy of calling herself that boys friend, let alone asking him to make that promise, she wished she had never said anything.

There on the bed was Naruto covered from head to toe in bandages, some looked fresh but others still had patches of blood seeping through. His chest area just above where his heart was, had a large bulge sticking out, which she assumed was where the worst of his injuries were, the place where Sasuke hit him with his Chidori.

She couldn't take it, the guilt inside her was overwhelming. _'Why, why did he go so far for my sake? He doesn't deserve this, he could have died, all because I wasn't strong enough to stop Sasuke myself. This all my fault.'_

* * *

"Excuse me, but visiting hours are over. You're going to have to leave." A nurse who had come in to check on her patient said as she noticed the young girl curled up on the chair next to his bed, previously occupied by Hinata.

"But it's only…" Sakura began, but quickly caught herself, as she looked up at clock to find it was indeed past visiting hours, she had been sitting there looking at Naruto and thinking for the past two hours, without realizing how long she had been there. "Sorry… I'll go now, thank you." She opened the door and walked out, before she closed she took on last look at the boy, _'I won't let you get hurt over me ever again, next time I'll be able to help you.'_

* * *

Sakura arrived at her home shortly after leaving to find her parents in the kitchen, "Sorry I'm late, I was at the hospital visiting…" Sakura began but stopped as she saw the look on her mother's face. "What happened, is something wrong?"

Sakura's mother ran up to her and hugged her daughter tightly, "We heard that the Uchiha boy was going to be executed, and we thought that maybe you would…" her mother said but cut off as she hugged her daughter closer to her, "It doesn't matter now, you're home and you're safe."

"Let the girl breathe Mebuki-chan. She has undoubtedly had a rough day." Sakura's father said placing a gentle hand on his wife's shoulder.

"Sorry Kizashi-kun, I was just so worried." Mebuki looked to her husband then back to her daughter, "We know how much you care for that boy, and we thought maybe you would have tried to protect him, or even try to help him escape. But it looks as though we were wrong, thank goodness."

"You should have known better, our daughter is too smart to throw her life away over some boy, stupid enough to betray his village." Kizashi said as though he had not been worried at all, only to be betrayed his the obviously bitten finger nails.

"It's ok, I wasn't sure what I was going to do for a while there, but I know now what I need to do, and it doesn't involve Sasuke." Sakura said startling both her parents at sound of revulsion at Sasukes' name. "I'm really tired, and I have a long day tomorrow, so I think I'll go to bed now, goodnight."

Without saying anything further Sakura walked upstairs to her bedroom. She laid down but suddenly felt wide awake, her thoughts moving a mile a second. She was going to have a long night.

* * *

After hearing that everyone was ok from Shikamaru and having a short conversation with Jiraiya about Sasuke, whom he was glad to hear was captured shortly after their battle, earlier that morning Naruto promptly fell back into a deep sleep.

It was around midnight when the blonde woke up again. He got up quickly in desperate need to utilize the bathroom, and regretted the moment he did. Still extremely sore, he stumbled and abruptly landed on his backside in front of the small table, that held his clothes and something else he knew had not been there when Jiraiya had left. Before he could investigate further however, the call of nature became stronger than his curiosity, and he slowly picked himself up to go relieve himself.

"Ah, that felt great." Naruto said a minute later coming out of the bathroom. He walked over and turned on the light, then took a closer look at what was sitting on table, and taken by surprise at what he found. _'Who the hell would leave me flowers?'_ Naruto thought suspiciously, he had never received any gifts. Not trusting them for one second Naruto stepped away and created a shadow clone, he sent his clone to check out the 'flowers'.

He had had experience in these types of things, people wanting to trick him with anonymous acts of 'kindness', that always turned out to be poisoned, explosives or something else meant to end his life.

After a few moments of careful inspection his clone walked back to the original, letting him know that it was safe. After another moment of doubt Naruto walked over to flowers, he picked up the card that was next to it and opened it up to read what was inside. He smiled broadly when the gift card to Ichiraku fell out.

_**Naruto-kun**_

_**I hope you get better soon.**_

_**Hinata.**_

The note was short and simple, and yet Naruto could not express the feeling he had the simple gesture of kindness. This was the first present he had been given, especially from a girl, who had always thought was a little weird, but really nice, if not overly shy and somewhat timid.

'_Maybe I should ask her if she would like to get a bowl of ramen with me once I get out of here, get to know her a little better.'_ Naruto thought with a small smile on his lips.

Putting thoughts to the back of his head for later, he decided to go and see the reason he was in this stupid place to begin with but first he had to find out which room he was in.

Naruto quickly created five clones, and each one transform into a doctor or nurse he had seen here, then sent them all to check all the rooms until they found Sasuke.

Fifteen minutes later, while Naruto was sitting down waiting for one of his clones to come back saying that they had found the target when something he had not been expecting happened. He was suddenly bombarded with the memories of one of his clones, _'What the hell was that all about.'_

The memories he gained both excited and embarrassed him. They excited him because his clone had found Sasuke, and it embarrassed him because in his clones' excitement he abruptly tripped over a stray mop and fell, hard. He would have to ask Kakashi-sensei about the side effects of shadow clones later.

Naruto hurried to the room somewhat anxious of what he would find on the other side. He held his breath and opened the door, "Sasuke…"


	2. Chapter 2

_**This is the second chapter, hope you enjoy**_

_**reviews are always welcome**_

_**for questions/concerns or tips/ideas please PM**_

_**Chapter 4 in second chance is on its way.**_

Away with the Dawn.

Chapter 2:

Blue eyes met onyx ones, and instantly the temperature in the room dropped. The anger, the hatred, and the resentment in the room was palpable. If either boy in the room were capable, they would have fought all over again. Sasuke sat up staring daggers at Naruto, who stared daggers right back.

"What the hell do you want? Haven't you done enough already?" Sasuke spat trying to stand but failing miserably, he forgot he was still restrained to the bed.

"I came to see if it was true. That you were still in the village." Naruto said, all excitement gone from his voice, replaced with a feeling of resentment that he couldn't explain. All he knew was that at the moment he looked into his _'friends' _eyes, the spot in his chest where he had been hit with that damned Chidori started to grow hot.

"Why the hell would you care? You ruined the only chance I had of ever getting strong enough to defeat Itachi." Sasuke said in a scathing tone, "I should have killed you when I had the chance!"

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about, but I don't even care anymore. You're noting more than a coward who tried to betray his own village for vengeance." Naruto spat right back, "And _**I **_should have killed _**you**_ when_** I**_ had the chance, if I hadn't held back and only scratched your forehead protector, then I would have killed you."

Naruto turned to leave but looked at his old teammate once more, "You're pathetic, and I'm sickened to think that I once thought of you as a brother." Naruto left and closed the door behind him, leaving a fuming Sasuke to wallow in his own misery alone in the dark.

* * *

Naruto sat in his own room, thinking on everything that had taken place over the last few days. The more the blond thought about it, the more he came to realize that he and Sasuke had never really been friends. Not once could he remember Sasuke ever calling him his friend, or so much as acknowledging their friendship, at best they were rivals, and rivalry will only take you so far. True Sasuke was the first bond he had ever made with someone his own age, but it wasn't a bond of friendship.

He figured that maybe, just maybe, that was a bond he could without. He had kept his promise to Sakura, Sasuke was back in the village. After a few minute had come and gone, he had come to a conclusion, tomorrow would be bring a great deal of changes.

* * *

The next day Konoha was with gossip, and all of it seemed to be centered on both the Uchiha and the Uzumaki.

"_Did you hear, the demon boy actually brought that Uchiha boy back?"_

"_I heard the demon brat almost got himself killed by the Uchiha."_

"_Shame he survived though."_

"_I heard that Sasuke kid was going to Orochimaru?"_

"_You mean one of the legendary three?"_

"_Yup the very same."_

"_I think they both should be put to death."_

"_Nah, just the demon boy, from what I hear that Uchiha's got a lot of potential."_

"_I heard the demon brats the whole reason he wanted to leave in the first place."_

* * *

The rumors seemed to all be taking a turn for the worse in the case of Naruto, and Sasuke seemed to be getting more and more sympathizers, all from the civilians in the village. The shinobi on the other hand, all saw Sasuke as a traitor, and were hoping that the boy would be executed for his treachery, there was no sympathy for a traitor, and many were outraged that the Hokage refused to do so. Naruto on the other hand had gained a great deal of respect from the shinobi of the village, not only had he beaten a Hyuga prodigy, he had also defeated and retrieved the last Uchiha, another genius.

The council was a different story altogether, after finding out the rather disturbing news of the Uchiha's condition, the council demanded that Naruto be brought in for questioning. He was too reveal how he had done what he had done, and how to reverse it, by any means necessary. Then he was to be disposed of, a technique or whatever it was that he had done to Sasuke should not be allowed to exist in the hands of a Jinchuuriki. Tsunade point blank refused to hear it.

"You must see reason Tsunade, the boy is too dangerous to be left alive. With that kind of ability, imagine the damage he could inflict if he were left unchecked." Homura Mitokado, one of her advisors said.

"And the fact that he is a Jinchuuriki, this can get out of our control rather quickly." Koharu Utatane, Tsunade's female advisor added.

"And what would you have me do? Kill a shinobi, who is loyal to the Leaf, because you _think_ he _might_ be dangerous later on." Tsunade said spitting venom with every word, "You are a bunch of old fools, maybe you should consider retirement."

"This is not a laughing matter, Tsunade you must understand…" Homura began but was quickly cut off by Tsunade, as her patience was wearing thin.

"Say I did have the boy executed, what about the fox? How do you propose we handle that situation, as say Naruto might one day choose to take out revenge on the village, and if you ask me he has every right to do so, considering the way he has been treated his entire life? However if he were to die the fox would be released back into the world and he would, without a doubt, destroy the Leaf. How do plan on handling that situation?" Tsunade asked scathingly.

A smirk appeared on the face of the fourth person of the room who had been, up until this point, quiet. "We would reseal the beast into another host, one with undoubtable loyalty to the leaf." Danzo Shimura said calmly.

"And just who did you have in mind?" Tsunade asked an idea of his answer already formed in her mind.

"There are a few candidates, but I have yet to make a final decision." Danzo said.

"And I presume you have a seal master in mind to perform the sealing." Tsunade said with a knowing smirk on her face.

"I'm afraid we don't understand what you mean Princess Tsunade." Koharu said as though they were missing out on the joke.

"Surely you would not expect Jiraiya to take any part in the murder of his own godson. Let alone in risking his life to seal the beast that his student died to seal into his only son. Personally I would expect my old teammate to turn against us, and join the fox in helping to destroy this village, considering that Naruto is, technically, the only family he has."

Silence filled the room, the shock showed on all the faces of her advisors. The brilliant scheme to gain full control of the nine tailed Jinchuuriki, that they had been planning since Sasuke's condition was revealed to them, just blew up in their faces. There was no greater seal master than Jiraiya, not now that the Uzumaki clan was wiped out. How they had overlooked such an important detail, was beyond them.

"Oh, in case you weren't aware of the other insignificant little fact concerning the sealing of the Kyuubi," Tsunade said suddenly as she got up too leave breaking the three away from their thoughts. She figured they were, without a doubt, trying to think of a way to successfully seal the demon without Jiraiya, "Only a member of the Uzumaki clan has any hope of being a container for the beast, so considering that Naruto is the last Uzumaki, I'd suggest you rethink how you want to treat our little Genin. Unless you want to bring down the full wrath of the Nine-Tails onto our village, and if you do I can ensure you that even if you manage to survive the beast, I will kill you myself for treachery against the Leaf." Tsunade said in a tone that clearly said this was no idle threat.

All three advisors looked scandalized, "Why was such information withheld from us?" Danzo demanded.

"That information has been handed down within the Senju and Uzumaki Clans. And seeing as I'm the last Senju, and Naruto is the last Uzumaki, I don't think it's necessary to keep it a secret any longer." Tsunade said nonchalantly.

Pushing that information to the back of their heads, Koharu and Homura finally snapped back into reality, "How dare you threaten us, we have been advisors to the Hokage since Hiruzen." Homura said.

"I made no threat to you, I merely said I would kill any traitors, unless of course you happen to be guilty of treachery." Tsunade said now peering over her fingers at Homura, "However planning the murder of a loyal shinobi of the leaf, now that does sound a lot like treachery. I think you three may be getting a little old for this position, so we can call it a senile moment."

Danzo, Homura, and Koharu looked as though they had been demoted to Genin again, "I think retirement would be in your best interest, wouldn't you." Tsunade said with a small smile on her face, "Unless you would like to take full responsibility for your indiscretions, and I do mean all your indiscretions." She needn't say anything more, they knew exactly what she was talking about, the Uchiha Massacre. And they knew right then and there, that if the village found out about their involvement in the incident, most would demand for their. They would lose any and all support they would have from the entire village. "And just as the village only knows half the truth about Naruto, the fact that a coup was being planned by the Uchiha will not be released."

All was quiet for what seemed like hours, "So how does retirement sound now?" Tsunade asked with a smirk.

Knowing defeat when they saw it, the three advisors bowed slightly to their Hokage, before saying in unison, "As you wish lady Hokage."

"Good, I will have your papers ready tomorrow, you're dismissed." And without another word the three ex-advisors turned to walk out the office as the last exited, before he closed the door, Tsunade added one last snide remark, "Enjoy your retirement, you've earned it." The door slammed shut after her words, and Tsunade burst out laughing, unable to contain her glee any longer. Finally she was rid of those three thorns in her side.

* * *

'_Why didn't it work?' _Danzo thought as he made his way out of the tower, _'Unless, of course that had to be the reason. Damn it, it will be while before I can use that technique again.'_

* * *

Tsunade stood a figure rising from her shadow, then suddenly she disappeared in a puff of smoke, revealing her to have been a shadow clone. The real Tsunade straightened out, _'That technique really does come in handy, I have to remember to thank Jiraiya for teaching it to me. I never imagined the power that Shisui's eye held, I couldn't believe how strong of an impact it had on my clone, I had to exert a lot more chakra than normal to keep my clone from saying and doing what Danzo wanted. I'm glad Jiraiya warned me never to talk to that old man face to face.'_

Tsunade made a hand signal and two ANBU appeared out of seemingly thin air, "Bring me Shikaku, Inoichi, and Hiashi." Taking their orders without question, they disappeared as suddenly as they had arrived.

Ten minutes later the three Jonin walked into the Hokage's office, confusion evident on their faces. "You summoned us Lady Hokage?" Shikaku asked as he closed door behind them.

"Yes, starting today you three, along with Shizune, will be my new Advisors." Tsunade said, Shikaku and Inoichi deadpanned, Hiashi raised an eyebrow slightly, which was the equivalent of a deadpan. "My previous advisors… have decided to retire, and I think it's about time for a few changes." She finished with a smirk.

'_This is going to be troublesome.' _Shikaku thought as Tsunade began to explain just what she meant by changes.

* * *

Naruto was walking through the village with Hinata, he had asked her to join him for some ramen, and if she could help him pick out some clothes that didn't scream _**"COME KILL ME!"**_ She was more than happy to help, she knew it wasn't a date or anything, but she was just glad to spending some time with her crush.

After they left Ichiraku they headed for a clothing store that Hinata said make the best ninja gear in Konoha, she said it's the only place that the Hyuga clan deemed acceptable. Even though Naruto was glad that his friend wanted to help him, he was nervous, most places refused him service, or charged him an insane amount of money so that he couldn't afford anything. He was too ashamed to tell that to Hinata though, although she didn't really talk much, and always looked like she was running a fever when he spoke to her, she insisted she was ok, he didn't want to scare her away.

When the two arrived to the store Hinata walked straight in, Naruto on the other hand hesitated before stepping into the store. Immediately the owner walked up to him with a smile that did not reach his eyes, which were filled with obvious hatred. "How may I help you." The owner said sounding as though the words caused him physical pain to say.

Naruto was shocked, even the store owners that tolerated his presence had never ever asked him if he needed help. "I-I-I'm looking for some new clothes." Naruto stuttered.

"Of course, please let me know if there is anything that you need assistance with." The owner said in that same pained voice.

"Thank you." Naruto said still in utter shock, _'What the hell is going on? Maybe it's because I'm here with Hinata? Yeah that's got to be it.'_ Naruto thought as he made his way back to Hinata's side, she was already picking out things for him to try on, and to his surprise, some of them had orange on them, dark orange of course, but still orange.

An hour later Naruto walked out with a whole new wardrobe, apparently everything that he bought appeared to be half off, even though there was no sign of a sale going on. He summed it up to being the young Hyuga heiress' influence, he chose that moment to bow to her in a humbled kind of way, "Thank you Hinata-chan." He said, trying to keep the emotions from welling up in his voice.

'_Chan? He only calls Sakura that.' _The young Kunoichi thought blushing at the new honorific, "F-for w-what Naruto-kun?" she asked unable to look at him.

"For helping me in that store, people are never that nice to me. I know it was only because of you that the store owner allowed me shop there, he even gave me great deals. So thank you Hinata-chan." Naruto said a huge smile, a true smile on his face.

Hinata looked up at the sound of pure happiness in his voice, and she saw it, the most beautiful thing in her entire world. One of Naruto's true smile, not the mask that he wore to hide his real feelings, no she knew the difference. Naruto rarely ever showed his true smile, and now he was smiling at her, for her. It was too much for the young girl, she stood staring star struck at her blonde crush, and then everything went black.

Naruto sat next to Hinata's hospital bed, still so confused about what had happened twenty minutes previous. First Hinata had been staring at him in a way that he didn't understand, and the next thing he knows, she falling backwards. She was lucky he had managed to catch her before she hit her head on the hard ground.

Tsunade had already been in to see her, and just smiled saying that she would be fine, before telling him to walk her home when she wakes up. After ten minutes, Hinata finally woke up in a daze, not completely sure where she was or how she had gotten there. It took her a few moments to realize that she wasn't alone where she was. She could hear the steady breathing of someone very close by, she turned her head just enough to see who was there, only for her face to immediately turn beet red.

Not even a few inches from her right hand, his head was resting on the bed fast asleep. She couldn't believe he was there, but at the same time, she had yet to figure out where _there _was. She tried to sit up without moving the bed too much, but failed miserably. When she moved her hand Naruto shot up, hand going straight to the top of his head, ready to block, "Granny Tsunade, no I didn't mean too, it was an acc-…" Naruto began before realizing he had been dreaming, and the Tsunade was not about to pummel him into mush for accidentally touching one of Hinata's breasts in front of her.

"N-N-Naruto-kun, are you o-ok?" Hinata asked nervously, thinking she may have done something to cause her crushes distress.

Naruto focused his eyes, when he saw the young blue haired Kunoichi, "Oh y-yeah, I must have dozed off and had a nightmare is all." He said blushing a little as well as he looked into her white lavender eyes. The memory of his dream still very fresh in his mind, his hand tingled slightly at the thought.

The silence lasted a little longer before Hinata found the courage to ask what had been plaguing her mind since she had woken up, "U-um Naruto-kun, how did I get here?"

"Oh, well you see, you sort of turned bright red, the passed out. I was worried about you, so I brought you here to the hospital, Granny Tsunade checked you out and said that you would be fine so I sat down, and then dozed off." Naruto said quickly.

"Y-you carried me all the way h-here?" Hinata asked beginning to blush once more.

"Believe it, I carried you bridal style all the way here." Naruto proclaimed proudly, then they both blushed deeply as he realized what he said.

"T-thank you Naruto-kun." Hinata said after a few more moments of silence.

"No problem Hinata-chan, don't mention it." Naruto said a little shyly, "U-um so whenever your ready, I'll walk you home, uh that is if you don't mind."

"I-I would like that." Hinata said blushing once more, and a few moments later the two friends walked out of the hospital together, and made their way to the Hyuga compound, simply enjoying each other's company.

Unknown to both the young Genin, there movement was being closely watched by tall figure in the shadows, who had witnessed every moment the two shred together. A twisted grin formed on the face of man, as moved silently to follow his prey, they were going to make two very interesting subjects indeed.


End file.
